Illini West seemed to have El Paso-Gridley in a bind as the third quarter of Tuesday’s Class 2A sectional semifinal contest ended. The Chargers had overcome a seven-point halftime deficit and led by five with eight minutes remaining.

With one of their stars in foul trouble and having just lost a nice lead, it was easy to worry about the fate of Titans on this night. But that last quarter may have shown what EPG’s girls’ basketball team is all about.

The Titans regained their composure and followed the lead of Jenna Souhrada and Rebekah Ehresman in rallying for a 45-41 victory and a spot in the Sweet 16.

“Jenna Souhrada stepped up and said ‘This is our quarter, this is where we play and we can come back,’” EPG head coach Kyle Bobbitt said. “They all played together — had some huge stops, huge steals that led to some transition opportunities. We made plays when we needed them.

“Our girls aren’t going down without a fight.”

El Paso-Gridley had led 26-19 at the intermission but saw the Chargers come out shooting in the third period. Illini West scored the first eight points to take a 27-26 lead just 2:05 into the second half.

The teams traded the lead five times before the Carthage girls took the lead 33-30 on a pair of free throws from Elise Trout with 2:05 left in the third period. Two more baskets countered two Ehresman free throws as the Chargers held a 37-32 edge by the start of the fourth quarter.

“We came out a little flat and Illini West got a couple of buckets right at the beginning,” Bobbitt said of the second half start. “Our girls keep their composure no matter what happens; you saw that in the fourth quarter.”

The Titans were having to battle with Codee Schlipf saddled with four fouls. Schlipf wasn’t deterred in her effort on offense. She had a three-point play that tied the game at 37-37 and had a put-back that cut a deficit to 40-39 with 3:47 remaining.

Schlipf fouled out with 2:39 to go, leaving it up to the rest of the Titans to carry on.

“We’re a close-knit group,” Bobbitt said. “When Codee fouled out, for a split second I thought we could be in trouble. I think that rose up their intensity to push forward.”

Leading the way on the floor was Ehresman on offense, as well the five girls playing defense at any given time. Bobbitt’s shuffling of players in and out did not diminish the intensity of the defense.

Page 2 of 2 - Ehresman hit two free throws with 2:26 left to knot the game at 41-41. She added another with 1:41 remaining to make it a 42-41 contest. It was the final lead change of the night.

“When the game is on the line, Rebekah wants the ball in her hands and is going to make something happen,” Bobbitt said.

Free throws from Mattie Buchanan made it a 44-41 game with 36.6 seconds on the clock. Ehresman added a free throw with 15.2 seconds showing to make it a two-possession contest.

The Titans fell behind 6-2 early but got points from five different players in closing out the first quarter with a 14-2 run.

Ehresman started the run with a pair of free throws and added a 3-pointer. Buchanan scored inside while Souhrada had a triple and Schlipf scored in the paint. Grace Murphy concluded the scoring in the period.

EPG added two more baskets to start the second period as Darian DeVary hit from the baseline and Schlipf scored on a fast-break opportunity to make it a 20-8 game. It was the largest lead of the night for the Titans.

El Paso-Gridley, ranked fifth in the final Class 2A poll, will meet seventh-ranked Sherrard in the final Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers defeated Knoxville 44-25 in the first game of the evening. The winner of the Orion Sectional will take on the winner of the Somonauk Sectional at the Monmouth Supersectional Monday.